My Perfect Guy
by The Mediocre One
Summary: Kagome has always been treated rather indifferently by Inuyasha, with an occasional grunt of thanks. But what happens when the hanyou starts acting differently, not to mention, inserting pet names into his vocabulary? May Kami save us all...
1. Him

A/N: This piece takes place somewhere after Kouga's appearance. Correct me if I'm wrong, but based on what my scatter-brained mind recalls, Inuyasha hasn't said anything really mushy to Kagome yet?

Oh well… Just read! ^^

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**My Perfect Guy**               **by The Mediocre One**

Chapter 1

_Oooh__…_Kagome fumed, her hands curled into tight knots. How dare he think she actually DID something with Kouga!! Sure, Kouga was a nice guy (unlike someone she knew), but how could Inuyasha actually believe her to be so low??? 

        "The NERVE OF HIM!" Kagome angrily shouted, slamming her hands down on the table, her face twitching in anger.

        "Uh…Kagome? The nerve of who?"

        Kagome froze in the middle of her angry explosion and looked up to find her friends Yuka and Erie staring at her, question marks practically flying from their heads. _Oh right…I'm in school right now…_ Kagome blushed, and tried to smile as though nothing had happened.

        "Eh, nothing." Kagome grinned, forcing down her negative feelings. "Just thinking about how much I'd like to kill someone right now." 

        Yuka and Erie gaped at her. Kagome Higurashi—wanting to kill someone? Who could possibly have triggered her killing instincts, they wondered. A light suddenly blinked on in Erie's head.

        "Oh!" She exclaimed. "Is it _him_?"

        The word _him_ seem to wash over Yuka, and _her_ eyes widened as it dawned on her. She turned her head to look at Erie. "You think it's _him_???" Erie nodded her head solemnly, her eyes lowered. Unsatisfied, Yuka shifted her gaze to Kagome. 

        "**Is** it?" 

        By now, Kagome was thoroughly confused. This conversation revolving around 'him this' and 'him that' was muddling her mind. Kagome tilted her head in a puzzled pose and blinked.

        "Eh? What do you mean?"

        Her response brought groans and sighs from her friends. Erie and Yuka exchanged exasperated looks before they once again turned to look at the bewildered Kagome. Yuka rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed with the "stupidity" of her friend. That bout of measles Kagome had earlier was definitely limiting the ability of her brain, Yuka thought with pity. 

        "To put it in understandable words, we are wondering if that violent, two-timing, thinks-you-are-his-property guy is still abusing you and cheating on you with that other woman." Erie nodded her head in agreement.

        Kagome's mouth dropped open in amazement. She hadn't thought that her friends would still remember about Inuyasha, and also hadn't thought that she had given such a bad impression on him. _But_, she reminded herself, some of the things did ring a bell. And some of the things _were_ the cause of her anger at him right now.

        "Well," Kagome began, "He's always getting jealous at any nice thing I do for guys, and he's always suspicious that I'm doing stuff with his rivals."

        Erie gasped, and quickly patted Kagome's head. "Then it's worse than we thought! He's entering the first stages of abuse—extreme possessiveness!!" She sternly looked into her friend's eyes. "You must get out of this relationship immediately, or one day he might catch you in an abandon alley and do bad things!!"

        Kagome nodded her head slowly, trying not to laugh. Inuyasha doing **bad** things to her? She doubted he was brave enough to even kiss her. Still, if he ever attempted it, she'd sit him until he was too weak to ever try again. Satisfied with that thought, Kagome looked back up at her dynamic friends. 

        "Kagome, after much thought, we have come to a conclusion. We must get you together with another guy so that you can forget all about this jerk." Yuka crossed her arms in an intimidating pose.

        "Now," she snapped her fingers at Erie, and the girl held out a piece of paper, "write down all the traits you want in a guy on this paper so that we can find the perfect guy for you." 

        "But I—" Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when she saw her friends smiling brightly at her. Meekly, she bobbed her head in agreement. _Darn it._ She could never resist their smiling.

--

        "Let's see…" Kagome twiddled the pencil absently while twirling a strand of hair. She gave a sigh and looked down at the blank white paper in front of her. _What do I want in a guy?_

        Actually, she didn't really want her friends to find her a guy. She couldn't get out of her relationship with Inuyasha because she didn't even _have_ a relationship with him! Of course, he **had** hugged her that one time and **had** said that he did want her near him.

        But how did she know that he wasn't lying about it? Maybe he just said that because he knew that if she was gone, there wouldn't be a shard sensor to sniff out all the Shikon pieces for him. _But still_…Kagome's eyes drifted toward the window, not really focusing on anything—_still_, despite everything, she wanted to be near him. Even if he didn't really care a thing for her right now, there was always a chance for the future…

        Kagome's gaze returned back to her desk and the sheet of paper. Now that she had sorted out all her feelings, what was she going to do about that list of traits? She couldn't just hand the paper back to her friends and explain to them that she had made up her mind to stay in the so-called *violent* relationship. They wouldn't accept it, and would just flash that 100-watt smile at her, until she wrote down all the traits she wanted in her "perfect man". Then, they would go out and trap a poor, unsuspecting male and drag him back for her to date.

        _Unless…_ Kagome's eyes glinted mischievously. Unless she wrote down traits that they would never find in a guy. Her perfect guy would be _perfect _indeed. Absolutely perfect—no flaws at all.

        A smile spread across Kagome's face as she set her pencil scribbling. Finally, when the whole sheet had been marked with arrangements of black squiggles, the pencil fell, clattering against the desk. Kagome smiled, satisfied with her work. Pushing the chair back, she stood up and strode out her room.

Now that she was done with that, she would take a nice hot bath to celebrate.

--

        Inuyasha growled irritably while he paced back and forth, followed by the eyes of his amused friends. "Damn it, when is that girl coming back?" He snarled again, as if to once again display his anger.

        Stopping in the middle of his meditation, Miroku opened an eye to glance at Inuyasha. "Perhaps she will never come back, seeing how angry she was when you accused her of sleeping with Kouga." He didn't bother to hide his smirk.

        Inuyasha looked at him with indignation. "I didn't say she was sleeping with him, I just asked what exactly she did with Kouga!" 

        "In other words, you implied that you thought she slept with him." Miroku added pointedly.  

        Inuyasha struggled to think of some witty comeback to that, but none came to his head. "I--," he hurriedly tried to think of something, "That's not what I meant!"

        Miroku smiled broadly at Inuyasha's feeble attempt to even the score. "Then the reason you brought that up was because you were desperately jealous and in your madness you accused Kagome of doing inappropriate deeds with him?"

        "Nice one," said Sango.

        Inuyasha was at a loss of words to say. Of course he wasn't jealous!!! How could he be jealous of a cowardly, idiot bastard of a wolf?? 

        "I'm not JEALOUS or MAD!" he shouted angrily at Miroku, who was now calmly sipping tea. "I'm NOT!"

        "Could have fooled me," Shippo piped up, a safe distance away from the fuming hanyou. 

        "You---you---!" Inuyasha struggled to muster up words to say, but his anger prevented him from thinking of anything.

        "Yes?" Miroku directed a small smile at him. "Anything the jealous dog would like to say?"

        Too heated to say anything, Inuyasha only saw three pairs of eyes on him, smirking at him. "Shut up," he growled, turning his face away from their grinning faces. "Anyways," Inuyasha tried changing the subject, "that stupid wench better come back soon!"

        "Hmph. If I were her, I'd never come back," whispered Sango to Miroku. "I mean, who'd want to come back to a mean arrogant jerk?"

        "Indeed," Miroku replied, in a much louder voice. "Kagome is probably enjoying the company of some fine young man right now."

        Inuyasha, who had been pretending to ignore the three, lifted his head indifferently. "Who gives?" He turned his nose up, as if it symbolized that he didn't.

        "You don't care if Kagome is out on one of those 'dates' right now? If she's holding hands with a nice, cute, guy—perhaps that Hojo she was talking about earlier—right now? If they're gazing into each others' eyes right now? If their lips are only a millimeter apart right n—"

        "THAT'S IT!" Inuyasha hollered, his head snapping up. Miroku and Sango eagerly awaited his next sentence.

        "How dare that she enjoy herself while we slave away here!!"

       The group fell to the ground with a crash. Miroku recovered, stiffly raising himself up. "Eh, Inuyasha. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to say, 'How dare that bastard touch my darling Kagome's lips?'"

        Inuyasha only directed a glare back to him. "As if I'm gonna act like some mushy wimp." 

        A smile curled up on Miroku's lips and he smirked at Inuyasha. "So you do like her. I knew it!"

        Inuyasha's cheeks paled as he suddenly recalled what he had just said. Dammit! It was just like Miroku to trap him with his own words! 

        "Feh," Inuyasha said quickly, trying to act like Miroku was mistaken. "The things you idiots come up with are unbelievable.

Anyways, I'm going to go drag Kagome back here. We have work to do and shards to gather." With a casual turn of the head, Inuyasha started toward the path to the well. 

        "Funny how you always talk about bringing her back after I mention the lip thing," muttered Miroku under his breath.

Conveniently, a rock seemed to find its way onto the houshi's head. "I heard _that_!"    

--

           _What do I say to her?_ Inuyasha wondered as he crawled out of the well of the shrine._ "I mean, I can't go 'I came to kill the guy who attached his nasty dirty lips on you' can I? Or 'Sorry' because then it'd mean I was wrong. Or on the other hand, if I said 'I miss you,' she'd think I liked her or something. _

_And I don't like her. Not in **that** way. _Inuyasha told himself, though there was a small nagging in the back of his head that seemed to suggest otherwise. _No, seriously, I don't!!   _

        _Although she is really nice sometimes with her hair in the wind—and she smells nice t_—GAH! What was he thinking??? Listening to Miroku's nonsense was doing damage to his sanity.

        Inuyasha shook his head furiously as if to wipe away all his thoughts. He'd just make something up when he was inside, Inuyasha decided. He didn't want those strange thoughts popping up in his head again. Inuyasha shook his head again, accidentally bumping into an antique vase set on a dusty table.

"ACK!" He quickly grabbed it before it crashed to the floor and carefully set it back where it was. No sense in making Kagome angrier than she is already, he thought.

        Carefully, Inuyasha maneuvered his way out of the shrine—watching out for any porcelain that was in his path, and quietly sneaked into the house through the back. 

        He wandered around the place, his nose carefully guiding him to the room with Kagome's scent. After circling around, he arrived at a small room at the corner of the house. However, Kagome didn't seem to be inside at the moment. 

        Not knowing what to do, Inuyasha sat down on her bed and surveyed the room. It was clean and organized—just like Kagome. Well, it certainly smelled like her; the scent of strawberries and lavender floated all around. Sitting here made him feel like he knew something about Kagome that no one else did—somehow, it made him feel sort of happy. 

        Inuyasha's eyebrows narrowed. _Blegh__…why am I acting like this again?_ He leaned back so that he was lying on the bed, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. Turning his head to the side, his nose couldn't help but catch Kagome's scent on the blankets and couldn't stop from sniffing it all over; drowning his nose in it. It just smelled so nice—so clean and fresh…

        A loud ringing sound suddenly commenced, coming from somewhere in the house. Startled, Inuyasha jumped up, quickly ducking as he heard Kagome's voice say, "I'll get it, Mom." His heart thumping rapidly, he half expected her to stop outside the room. And so, very relieved was the hanyou when her footsteps continued walking until they were out of range of the doorway.

        That was close, he thought, letting out the breath he had been holding. It wouldn't have been good if she had seen him sniffing her blankets. She might think he was some sort of sick pervert and smack him—no, even worse, SIT him. 

Inuyasha's eyes bugged as he imagined the situation. It was **definitely** good that she hadn't seen him. But now that it was over, maybe he should go find her. Jumping up, Inuyasha stretched a little, when some words drifted in from the doorway. Curious, Inuyasha strained to hear.

"…yes, Yuka. I've finished the list…yeah the one with the traits…" It was Kagome's voice. 

"Mhm…I know. You want to know what I think of Kazuya? Well, I suppose he's nice…though perverted sometimes…yes…Takashi? He's funny, but I don't really—hey wait! What about the list? I thought you were going to use that! 

…oh…I see…other resources…okay, okay… Yes! I know…okay, I'll get out of the abusive relationship…yes…I promise I'll get over him…mhm…it's all fine! Don't worry! 

…okay..bye then!!" 

He heard a small click and then Kagome's footsteps walked away, getting softer until they disappeared. Dazed at what he just heard, Inuyasha's mouth opened and closed noiselessly.

 Kagome was in love with an abusive jerk? It had to be that bastard Hojo—the one Miroku had mentioned earlier! He, who had defiled her with his dirty paws! How could Kagome like such a person?

 Snarling, the hanyou began pacing back and forth through the room, lividly staring at the carpet. As he paced to the right for the tenth time, a piece of paper on Kagome's desk caught his attention. Inuyasha stopped, and walked toward it, picking it up. He scanned it curiously, his eyes scrolling down.

It read:

Kagome's Perfect Guy: A List of Traits:

        -Must be tall

        -Must be strong

        -Must act gentlemanly (complimenting me)

        -Must be romantic

        -Must have nice features: teeth, smile, eyes 

        -Must have nice, clean clothes

        -Must be intelligent

        -Must have sense of humor

        -Must act manly

        -Gives flowers

        _Ah. So this is "the list" they were talking about_, Inuyasha thought. He browsed through the whole thing again, and smiled smugly. 

        _Well, that abusive jerk Kagome's with sure doesn't fit the niceness requirement. He must not be the perfect guy for Kagome then._

        Inuyasha smiled again. Then suddenly, the realization of how he could get Kagome away from the violent male she was with appeared in his head.

        He, Inuyasha, would be all of those things that Kagome wanted in her perfect guy. He would then lure her away from that bastard she loved—therefore saving her from the guy's violent clutches. Although she might not be too happy at first, sooner or later she would realize his good intentions. He grinned as he imagined Kagome bowing down to him in thanks.

Inuyasha studied the list again and grunted. The requirements didn't seem all that hard to him. For example: How hard was it to act manly? He was already a man—so didn't that mean he was manly? Inuyasha scratched his head. Or at least he thought that's what it meant.

        Before he could ponder on the state of manliness any longer, a sudden loud creak of the door alerted him of an intruder. An intruder named _Kagome_.

        "Shoot!" Inuyasha scrambled away from the desk while hastily grabbing the list. He stumbled toward the window, clumsily knocking the chair down and sending sheets of paper to flight in his hurry. Quickly, he wrenched the window open and disappeared just as the door opened. 

--

        Kagome surveyed her room with mixed emotions of dismay and shock. What she had left as a clean room was now a garbage dump—her chair lying against the floor, papers all strewn across the room, and her desk—she had left it neat with only a single piece of paper on—Kagome's hand flew to her mouth. The paper was gone! 

        She didn't care much about having to write the information again—how hard could it be to list the traits of a perfect guy? But she clearly remembered on having left it there; how could it disappear in just a few minutes? Releasing a sigh, Kagome slumped down on her bed, her arms hugging her pillow tightly. Seriously, why did these things always happen to her? 

         She stared at her hands, blankly thinking, when suddenly she noticed some strands of fur on her bed. Grabbing one, she inspected it closely. It was a pure white color, so it couldn't have belonged to her, Souta or her mother, and that meant it could've only belong to one other being…

"Souta!" Kagome yelled. "Don't you know that Buyo isn't allowed on my bed?"

        Kagome's brother peered at her questioningly through the doorway. "But Buyo wasn't anywhere near your room," he protested, "He was downstairs in the kitchen!"

        "Sure," Kagome muttered to herself after her brother was beyond audible boundaries, "I swear, the things he does to protect that cat." She shook her head in disapproval. "It **had** to have been Buyo."

She glanced at the strand of fur again. Though it did seem too fine to be fur belonging to _that_ cat. It seemed more like hair now that she looked at it closely.

        And since when did Buyo's hair get longer than a foot? Strange really. The size of those fur balls would definitely be a sight to see…

--

A/N again: Guess Buyo needs a shave… ^^


	2. To be a Gentleman

gWoot! Chapter Two is up!!!! It's taken me awhile, mainly because I've been so busy with schoolwork. Well, enjoy!

**My Perfect Guy****                     By The Mediocre One  **

Chapter Two: To be a Gentleman

While Kagome was pondering over Buyo's record-breaking furballs, Inuyasha, in the meantime, was preoccupied over the ways of a gentleman. Comfortably settled in his secret hiding spot (a secluded corner alongside a riverbank near the outskirts of the village), he leaned back, before browsing through the list for the tenth time.

"Hm…let's see," Inuyasha stopped, inspecting some items on the paper more carefully while tapping his finger against his cheek. 

"Nice smile?" The hanyou paused. He leaned over so that his face was overlooking the water; then bared his teeth, with his lips pulled back into a rather ferocious looking smile. After a few brief moments in that state, Inuyasha slowly turned his head to the right, and then left—dwelling for a few seconds on each pose. When he had finally finished studying his reflection, the hanyou returned his gaze back to the list, satisfied. "Check."

His eyes dropped down to the next item on the list. "Nice eyes?" In response, Inuyasha once again peered out at his reflection, inspecting his golden orbs. A smile graced his lips. "Check." Inuyasha felt somewhat pleased with the fact that he was such a handsome looking fellow.

_Now, next on the list_. "Am I romantic?" That one stumped him. _Was he?_ How did a person *act* romantic, for that matter? Inuyasha knew that it involved flowery phrases of mush (eyelash-batting popped up in his head)…but as for the specifics, he had no idea. Inuyasha scratched his head. 

Girls seemed to like being called beautiful, so maybe he should try complimenting Kagome on her looks. Like say something that suggested she was gorgeous. Even if it felt utterly humiliating.

_Here it goes. Think smooth, suave, and sophisticated.  _"You are so-o be-e-autiful." It came out more as a croak. So much for suave, thought Inuyasha dryly. 

_Okay. Another try_. Inuyasha cleared his throat loudly before opening his mouth. "You are so beau—UGH!!" Inuyasha threw up his hands and groaned—his face a brilliant shade of red. Even saying the stupid thing felt embarrassing. He wasn't adapted to saying this sort of stuff; it made him feel awkward and unmanly. Inuyasha cursed. He was starting to think that this was more trouble than it was worth.

_No!_ His mind shouted, and instantly, the reasons for continuing on with his *gentlemanly charade* ran through his mind.

He **had** to say it. In order for him to rescue Kagome from the hands of the creep who seduced her, he needed to perfect the arts of being gentlemanly. Inuyasha sighed as he realized there was no way to get out of the situation he was in.

_Ah…well, practice makes perfect.    _

Inuyasha rubbed his hands together and licked his lip nervously. "You are so beautiful."

"Why thank you." 

Inuyasha jumped, goose bumps sprouting all over his skin at the voice. He mentally cursed and prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was. Crossing his fingers, he cautiously looked up—and sighed. 

"Oh, it's _you_," Inuyasha said, trying not to let the relief he felt creep through his voice.

The monk smirked, not deceived by the careless tone. "Now who did you think it was? Your lovely Kagome, perhaps?"

Inuyasha scowled and feigned a nonchalant face. "Feh. As if. "

Miroku smiled sweetly, his gaze settling intently on his friend. "Oh really, Inuyasha. Then, please explain why you were blabbing nonsense to yourself a few seconds earlier?"

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side. "Oh, well I was just trying—." Wait a moment, Inuyasha thought hurriedly, wanting to smack himself mentally,--this was _Miroku_ he was confiding his secrets too—**Miroku**, the perverted monk who had a rather gregarious mouth. Inuyasha clammed up immediately. 

"Nothing," he said quickly, forcing his lips into a sugary smile. "Nothing, really."

Miroku returned his smile with one of his own; one that was both equally sweet and equally fake.  He tilted his head at Inuyasha, "seemingly" satisfied with Inuyasha's reply.

"Ah…is that so?" 

Before Inuyasha had time to react, Miroku's hands lunged toward him, snatching the list gracefully out of the hanyou's paws—all in a record three seconds.

Letting loose an indignant yelp of anger, Inuyasha jumped up and chased the monk. He tried (with no avail of course, for his friend was an expert at "grabbing things") to steal the paper back. Miroku dodged his angry swipes with swift and expert ducks, trained to perfection through Sango's constant attacks. Finally, after a few unsuccessful seconds of trying to regain his possession, Inuyasha let loose a growl and sat down.   

Damn that Miroku, Inuyasha fumed inwardly. _Damn him and his thieving little hands. _

His anger was not helped when his "friend" plopped down right in front of him, holding the desired item in his hand, a mocking smile directed at Inuyasha.

"Now let's see what we have here," Miroku sang in a sing-song voice. He smoothed out the crumpled piece of paper and clearing his throat loudly, began to read.

"_Kagome's Perfect Guy: A List of Traits_… Must be tall…gentlemanly…," here Miroku paused to look at Inuyasha slyly. "Would you care to explain why there are little checkmarks here, my friend?" 

Inuyasha was too pooped out to reach over and strangle the monk; and instead, just glared.

"Fine, fine; just ignore your fellow man," Miroku shrugged and continued on. Scanning the list over, he continued reading, "Must have nice, clean clothes; must have intelligence—that's where you might have some trouble, Inuyasha… (he was interrupted by a snarl from a certain hanyou), and oh yes—must be romantic." Miroku lifted his head and made the pretense of giving Inuyasha a long, searching look.

"Are you sure you're adept in that department? Do you even know what the essence of romance is, my dear comrade?"

His question stabbed Inuyasha right in the heart. How did the monk know the trouble he'd gone through trying to figure how to be romantic? _Did he read minds?_ Inuyasha was frightened for a brief moment until he remembered that if Miroku did indeed possess the ability of mind-reading, he wouldn't have earned as many put-downs from females as he did.

But back to the main question: could Miroku actually help him _be _a gentleman? If Miroku in fact, did know how—his problems would be solved—and he could get this horrible gentleman thing over with.

But before Inuyasha had anymore time to ponder this question over in his head, his mouth blurted out "Are you saying that _you_ do?" 

Miroku grinned, for he had already planned on Inuyasha's impulsive nature. "Of course I do. Just leave it up to me, and Kagome will be fainting over you in no time at all. After all, I **am **skilled in the study of romance."

Inuyasha was still slightly doubtful. "If you're so much of an expert, how come you get slapped by the opposite sex so much?"

His friend feigned a hurt expression. "Inuyasha! Do you want my assistance or don't you?" 

Well, Inuyasha debated in his mind—sure, the guy did have some problems, but at least he had **experiences**— his exes didn't go around trying to drag him to hell and kill his friends. Yes, Inuyasha thought; Miroku **was** better than nothing, after all.

"Yeah, I guess." 

"Very well then," Miroku perused Inuyasha over and wrinkled his nose. "Though we'll have to get rid of that shirt—just how long have you been wearing it? And don't smile like that—it looks like you're eyeing dinner! Hmm…you do have that rugged look, but that hair of yours--!"

 Amidst the mountain of complaints, Inuyasha was starting to feel rather ticked off, but had managed thus far to compose himself. The comment about his hair, however, was the last straw.

"What's wrong with my hair? I use a fresh mixture of mashed algae and moss to wash it daily!"

Miroku's mouth twitched into a dry smile. "I think that, along with the crises of your nails and ears may be the problem."

"You dare?" Angrily, Inuyasha sprang toward Miroku, his claws unsheathed and glinting dangerously in the sun. "Claws of Blo—!" 

"Now wa---it one itsy bitsy moment," Miroku uttered hastily, a hurried smile spreading across his face. "Remember, gentlemen are as gentlemen do!"   

Miroku sighed wearily as the hanyou's fist froze, and watched as Inuyasha sat back down testily. 

"Okay then!" he snapped, "So help me already!"

The monk massaged his temples wearily, wondering what on earth had possessed him to volunteer to help Inuyasha. All he got in return were attempted attacks and assailments from his student. It was going to be no fun helping him; no fun at a—

Suddenly, as if struck by some "interesting" idea, a smile curved upon Miroku's lips.

_Fun_—oh, why hadn't he thought of it sooner? Revenge. This was the perfect opportunity for it. He could take advantage of Inuyasha's current helplessness and pay him back for all those nasty insults in the past—remarks that had quickly prompted a shower of blows from a certain Hiraikotsu owner.  

"Oy, Miroku! Are you going to keep smiling idiotically or help me here?"

Oh yes, Miroku thought dangerously, struggling to contain a calm face, —we are **definitely** going to have some fun…

--

        It was a fine, sun-kissed afternoon when Kagome returned to the Feudal Era. The sky was powdery blue with wisps of clouds lazily drifting about. Birds cheekily sang cheerful tunes and the forest was a world of life.

        Kagome, however, was in no mood for all of this as she grumpily climbed out of the old well in midst of the forest. During the course of Sunday afternoon, her room had been savaged by a mysterious invader who had not bothered to clean up the mess he made, forcing her to spend hours organizing everything in its proper places. Strands of hair belonging to some mysterious creature had been messily strewn over her bed. To make things worse, her parents had received a phone call from a teacher, notifying them of her failing grade in math.

        _So much for a nice and normal weekend_, she grumbled to herself. "Now, wouldn't it be funny if Inuyasha suddenly appeared and clasped me into his arms?"

        Kagome laughed silently; the image was too absurd to even think about. Shaking her head, she bent over to pick up her pack of necessities when a voice shook her out of her brief amusement.

        "Kagome." The voice sounded familiar, but was too throaty and deep to be confirmed.

        Too frightened to face the owner of the voice, she prepared to launch off into a quick dash. But as her feet lifted, strong arms caught her firmly by the waist, clutching her tightly.

        "Let go of me," Kagome hissed hoarsely, "or I'll bite you." 

        The stranger didn't loosen his hold and only chuckled. "Kagome, Kagome," he said light-heartily. "Darling, it's me."

        Flinching at this last comment, Kagome angrily wrenched his arms off her waist and whirled around heatedly. "I already have someone, and get away from me, you disgustin—" 

        Her mouth suddenly dropped open at the unexpected sight of silky white hairs. Her mouth twitched in disbelief, her mind believing, yet unbelieving at the same time.

        "Inuyasha?"

        It was him, if a hanyou in a dark black suit, sunglasses, and leather shoes **was** Inuyasha. (Curiously, it seemed to be right out of the Men in Black II DVD she had brought with her on her last trip to the Sengoku-jidai.)

Kagome screamed.

--

AN: Ironic, isn't it?  


	3. Comedy turned Horror

-AN: Chapter Three is up! Enjoy!

**My Perfect Guy****                       By The Mediocre One**

**Chapter 3:**

          Kagome screamed again, her voice reaching the peak of its height. Then, as if she'd managed to compose herself for a second, she stopped and stared at Inuyasha before swooping down to grab her pack from the ground.

          "Who are you? And what have you done with Inuyasha?" she asked through narrowed eyes, her backpack positioned threateningly at her side.

          Inuyasha was bewildered. Kagome acting the way he'd imagined and Kagome acting the way she _was_ did not match up. He had expected a different sort of expression on her face—not the hostile "DANGER! DANGER!" look, but rather, the dreamy "I'm Heads-Over-Heels" mode. To put it simply, he had expected her to fall in love with him immediately.

Like that was going to happen.

          First of all, Kagome was looking nowhere near dazed or hypnotized. On the contrary, she seemed ready to attack him with her bag at any sign of movement. _Love?_ To hell with that. She was like one millionth of a percent in love with him at the moment.

Reality was so cruel.  

          He hadn't let Miroku dress him like _this_ for her hostile attitude— that much he was sure of. (Miroku had insisted that his studies showed that the clothes were those of the latest fashion in Kagome's time). 

          "Darling," he tried again, using the word Miroku had forced into his vocabulary, but winced when he saw Kagome's backpack come a threatening inch off the ground. He abruptly stopped and took a hesitant step toward her, and was rewarded with a glare.

          "Oy, Kagome! It's **_me_**, Inuyasha!" he shouted desperately, allowing his old self to resurface for a brief moment. He felt his heart leap hopefully as Kagome's face lost some of its hostility. 

          "Inuyasha? It's _really_ you?" Inuyasha's sudden outburst had brought a surprised glimmer to her eyes. She continued to stare at him in a somewhat dazed state, as if memorized by his face.

          Inuyasha felt a smirk spreading across his face as his former arrogance came back to him. Now that Kagome realized that he was Inuyasha, his new look could begin its work on her—giving her no choice but to fall in love with him. A smile played upon his lips as she took a timid step towards him. Her eyes were fastened intently on him; her mouth was upturned in adoration. Heh, Inuyasha mused, --getting her to fall in love was a piece of cake. 

          "Inuyasha…"

          He bit down to hide a laugh. Why, she was already breathless for hi—

          "SIT!"

          CRASH. 

          "Y—you wenc--!!" Inuyasha sputtered angrily as he struggled to block the curses that were on brink of exploding. Girls, he thought crossly. One moment they're ready to hug you—the next, they cause you bodily harm.

His sullen face failed to faze Kagome, whose own face was now the epitome of delight. "Oh! So it is you, Inuyasha!" she gasped out, not noticing Inuyasha's gloomy aura. 

Instead, she plopped down next to him and stretched her arms out in her usual, Kagome-ish way. "Sorry for that," she smiled apologetically. "I wasn't sure—you know, with that new look and all."

Inuyasha wasn't sure whether he was supposed to frown or be happy about that last comment. He stared at Kagome as she kept blabbering on as if nothing had happened. She kept the nonstop chatter about her day going, making little hand motions here and there to add drama, when suddenly in the middle of a thorough explanation on her breakfast, she stopped and looked at Inuyasha, her forehead creased. 

Inuyasha, who had managed to calm down and had been drowsily listening to her, looked up in surprise as Kagome's head suddenly leaned an inch closer to his. Instinctively, his own head moved back a little—in case it was an accident on her part and all, but apparently it wasn't, as her head advanced forward again. 

They were now only a mere half-inch apart.

          Inuyasha could feel Kagome's eyes studying his own with intense concentration, her gaze drifting over him. Was it possible that she was going to---no, it couldn't be. Or could it? The question reran through his mind as her head tilted upwards, so that her lips were at an angle with his. She was going to kiss him, Inuyasha thought with a sudden quirk of thrill. It would mean the whole freaking end to this tiresome charade as a so-called gentleman—and maybe even more?

          The contours of her face were becoming increasingly magnified as she bent closer and closer. His heart raced, faster and faster, in eager anticipation of the inevitable.

"Inuyasha," she whispered in a husky pitch that made Inuyasha shiver, "WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT SMELL?"

Inuyasha (who had been busying himself with optimistic thoughts) felt his ears completely devastated by the unexpected shout/shriek.

 "The smell?" He asked, confused and somewhat disappointed in spite of his many continuous denials that Kagome was anything more than a friend. But still…

"Yes, the SMELL. What is it?"

          Bewildered, Inuyasha gave himself the once-over. "Oh, **_that_**," he said carelessly and at the same time, relieved. "It's just Aroma du Sweat." He couldn't help but smirk at Kagome's sudden look of wondrous disbelief. "Miroku lent it to me. He said that the miraculous human perspiration—whatever that is, would help enhance my manliness."

          Kagome nodded slowly, with a seemingly strange smile plastered across her face. "So you say that Miroku helped you out, hm?" Her voice was sugary—one would say almost _too_ sweet.

(But sadly, our beloved hanyou did not detect that edge in her tone. He only knew that Kagome was falling deeply in love with him and rapidly falling out of love with her devious, over possessive "boyfriend" with every passing second.)

At this, Inuyasha could barely contain his glee at Kagome's sudden interest in him. She was **_so_** lapping up his gentleman-act. Never mind that "sit" from a few moments before; that had just been a tiny fluke. Kagome was definitely captivated by him. Miroku had been right—that perspiration thing had done the trick, even though he had no idea what it was. It might smell funny, but it did the trick. Only three minutes and Kagome was already close to swooning.

_Oh, really?_ His inner conscience argued. 

_You don't believe me? _Inuyasha retorted back slyly. _She's sitting right next to me and practically lapping up everything I say._

Eager to prove his point, Inuyasha turned around to look at Kagome, ready for more fawning. His mouth dropped open.

She was gone. 

The wind whistled across the open space where she had been sitting. Inuyasha rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. 

Nope. She _was_ really gone.

Inuyasha whirled around frantically, his eyes scanning the scene until they stopped on a pair of fresh footprints left in the mud.

"She's not making this easy," Inuyasha hissed through gritted teeth in a very un-gentlemanly way. Ignoring his taunting inner self's "I told you so's," the hanyou stomped off through the forest, weaving through shrubs and fallen leaves, chasing the girl that, if things had gone as planned, was supposed to be chasing him.

--

"Where is Miroku?" Kagome demanded crisply the moment she arrived at the village campground. 

"He's roasting the snakes and eels for dinner." Sango absently replied, in the midst of polishing her Hirakotsu with a scrap of cloth. "Why?" 

Easy, Kagome fumed inwardly. _He_ was going to tell her how he transformed Inuyasha into a total wack-job, and where he'd gotten all those materials from. Suits and Cologne du Sweat? She hadn't even realized that Miroku spoke foreign languages!

Not hearing an answer, Sango looked up from her chore, and noticing the furious expression and rapidly twitching nerve on her friend's forehead, worriedly asked, "He didn't grope you or anything, right? Because if he did, I'll—"

"No, no," Kagome interrupted, her eyes still cast in a dangerous angle. "It's about Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha?" Sango inquired, a puzzled look forming on her features. She turned to Kagome, who was already starting toward the campfire. "Don't tell me that our infamous houshi has converted the hanyou to holy Pervert-ism." 

 "It's worse," Kagome shouted back, her tone blunt. "You'll see."

"What?" Her reply only served to make Sango even more confused, but Kagome had already disappeared from view. Sango shrugged and returned to the polishing, though her mind was still brooding on the matter. "But I thought that—"

 Her sentence was abruptly cut off as a familiar looking hanyou in strange garb whooshed before her, trailing the path that Kagome had taken.

"Oh my…," Sango sucked in her breath, her eyes goggling. "Never thought I'd see that."

Pondering this with a strange look crossed across her face, she craned her head to look at a mysteriously phony-looking pair of shrubbery alongside the right.

"Now, I suppose you're behind all this, _dear_ houshi?" she asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow as the underbrush revealed itself to be a disheveled monk.

Miroku dropped the branches (with dead leaves rice-pasted onto it) that he'd been holding up. He brushed himself off delicately, and turned to look innocently at Sango.

"It wasn't very nice of you to suggest that I'd even think of groping Kagome," he said with a pointing finger.

"Don't change the subject, Miroku. Did you, or didn't you?"

"I don't believe I know what you're talking about. I've just been sitting here for hours—"

"And I suppose posing as foliage is without a doubt, a most fascinating hobby, I'll bet," Sango commented dryly.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Miroku did not seem to appear disturbed by Sango's accusing tone. "I was just peacefully pondering the relaxing effects of masquerading as vegetation. That is, I was, until you so blasphemously accused me of being the mastermind behind Inuyasha's new look."

"You know," Sango interrupted crisply, offhandedly holding up a suspicious looking needle and fabric with the label "Property of Miroku" tagged to it. "Kagome would be _very_ interested to know that I found these objects hidden in the clothing of a certain monk…"

Miroku's face paled at the sight of the small collection, but his face quickly transformed into that of a wheedling expression. 

"Now Sango, where'd you find those things? I'd been looking for them since they disappeared last month."

"Nice try," Sango interrupted with a smile, "but I'm not that stupid. Now tell me, did you, or didn't you?"

Miroku, seeing as his sweet-talk was going nowhere, gave a small sigh of surrender. "Okay, so I **am** behind all of this—but listen!" he quickly added as he caught Sango's accusing look. "Inuyasha wanted my help in making Kagome fall in love with him. So, being the expert at love that I am, I suggested that I give him a makeover. It was because of my concern for his welfare that I did what I did—sewing and weaving throughout the day's last hours."

Sango, who had stifled a snort at the last part, now looked at him with skepticism written all over her face. "So you're telling me that Inuyasha, our brash, insensitive hanyou, wants you to play matchmaker? And instead, you brainwash him into acting like some conceited noble from Kagome's time?" She gave Miroku a suspicious look. "Are you sure there isn't another purpose behind this, like oh—revenge or something like it?"

Miroku gave the appearance of being wounded. "Why, Sango! I am deeply hurt that you would think that I am capable of plotting immature schemes like that." 

"Like what?" came a voice behind them.

Sango and Miroku jumped up in alarm and quickly whirled around. There stood Kagome, glowering at Miroku dangerously. 

"Miro—ku…" she started, an eerie light glinting in her eyes.

"Ye-es, Kagome?" stuttered Miroku nervously, despite his efforts to remain calm.  

"What did you do to—"

The group was once again interrupted by another person's appearance.

"Sweetheart!" came a vibrant cry. 

Sango saw Kagome's face pale a few shades before weakly managing a feeble looking smile.

"Inuyasha…," Kagome croaked, "how nice to see you again."

Sango shook her head out of pity for her friend. Kagome seriously needed some help at acting. First off, although her friend had said "how nice to see you," her face totally proved otherwise. Not that Sango could blame her. Inuyasha in his current state wasn't really something she could stand coming face to face with after a tiring day. 

Even after her quick glimpse at him earlier, it was still quite a shock to see him in "strange garb." She could now clearly understand why doom at Kagome's hands was inevitable for Miroku.

          Inuyasha, seeing as Kagome was not leaping up in joy at the sight of him, tried again. "Kagome…"

          The girl pretended to be deeply immersed in studying the grass beneath her feet. Forgetting his "gentlemanly" behavior, Inuyasha shot a frustrated look at Miroku— Sango observed. The monk only rolled his eyes and did a mini Pictionary demonstration, with his left arm sliding around Sango's waist. (She gave him a dirty look.) Inuyasha's mouth dropped open in shock and he looked at Miroku pleadingly. His friend only winked at him and jabbed his elbow towards Kagome's direction suggestively.

          After a few moments of gathering up his courage, Inuyasha licked his lips and edged nervously towards Kagome. As soon as he was situated as close as he could get, he gave a gulp and slid his arms smoothly around Kagome's waist.

Sango saw her friend tense up as soon as contact was made, and much as she wanted the two together, the time wasn't right. It just wasn't morally correct to force two people together like that. Especially if one looked a little different from usual.

Plus, Kagome looked like she needed saving big time.

So, Sango picked up her Hirakotsu and threw it as hard as she could, wincing as it made a loud BONK against Inuyasha's head.  _And I just finished polishing too_, she thought wistfully. Oh well, friendship _was_ more important, after all…

Inuyasha yelped as a loud bump sprouted on his head with his hand releasing Kagome's waist in pain. "Sango!" he shouted, a stormy look crossing his eyes. "What in the seven hells was that for?"

"I was just trying to polish my boomerang-throwing skills," she carelessly replied, giving Kagome a small wink from the corner of her eye. 'Now get out of here before Inuyasha remembers you,' Sango mouthed to her friend. 

Kagome gave a quick smile of gratitude to her before quietly tiptoeing away in the opposite direction. Inuyasha, who had been completely oblivious to her escape, looked at Sango suspiciously.

"What are you saying?" he asked her, his eyebrows narrowed.

Hm…the hanyou was starting to act like his grouchy old self again…should she have really helped Kagome escape? Maybe the guy really was starting to fall in love with the girl, and just couldn't help acting all strange around her. 

Or maybe it was just all Miroku's brainwashing…  Yep, that was it. From what she'd witnessed so far, Inuyasha wasn't the mushy type who'd confess love with flowers and choruses of 'Darlings!' He was more the kind who stuck to revealing affection through insults and rough comments.

So it _was_ all that monk's fault that Kagome and Inuyasha were entangled in this huge mess, Sango thought, grimacing. In that case; in order to set all wrong to right, she would need Miroku to reverse the "gentleman" effect. And she had just the plan to do it…

"Oh, you were asking what I was saying?" Acting as if she felt flustered and dazed, Sango took a step toward the hanyou. "I was just murmuring to myself what a handsome dog you were," Sango continued on in an airy voice while batting her eyelashes furiously at Inuyasha. "And I was thinking that if Kagome didn't want you, I'd be sure as glad to keep you all to myself."

Inuyasha gaped. So did Miroku.

A hidden smile twitched at the corners of Sango's lips. Mission: Flirtatious Woman was off to a good start.  

"You think I look good?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes surveying her in disbelief.

"Sure!" Sango took a step closer, until she was practically leaning against Inuyasha. Boy, am I acting OCC-ish, she thought dryly, but only said, "Why wouldn't I?"

The surprise drawn in Inuyasha's features became an arrogant looking smile, and he turned his head to smirk at the unbelieving monk. Miroku only blinked some more and rubbed his eyes a few dozen more times, all the while looking a little peeved.

"Sango," he started, "If I wore clothing identical to that, would you cling to me too?"

What? "NO!—I mean, it just wouldn't be the same," Sango added hastily, trying to cover her mistake. "Inuyasha just looks so dazzling and natural in this outfit, other males would dull in contrast," she drawled as she twirled a lock of Inuyasha's hair.

Inuyasha swallowed uneasily. The atmosphere around him was definitely tensing up—and not in a good way, from what it seemed. Sure, it felt good to have his ego stroked by Sango's sudden attentions. After all—what guy would turn down a chance to feel manlier than he was already? But might as he did enjoy it, the person that was the supposed object of this situation was gone. _Kagome_ was gone.  

          And on top of that, Miroku didn't seem too happy at him at the moment, what with his beloved Sango literally hanging onto Inuyasha. He was looking over his way with a very scary smile on his face… 

          The hanyou gulped. He quickly turned to Sango, trying to remove her fingers from his shirt as fast as he could. "Listen Sango, you're a dear and everything, but I've got my sights set on other—!"

          He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, and pointed his nose at the air, sniffing intently. His head snapped up, and his eyebrows deepened.

"Kagome!"

Then without a word, he bounded away, the wind whistling after him. Forgetting the situation beforehand, Sango and Miroku shared a wary look and chased after the hanyou. 

--

          "Oi! Kagome! I'm so glad to see you again!"

          Kagome sighed, her fingers rubbing her temples—trying to alleviate the headache she'd gotten from the unrelenting day; the day she _had_ been trying to escape.

          No such luck. Once again, she found herself face-to-face with another of the male species that was currently trying to woo her into his arms with mushy phrases. Only, this was Kouga, and the phrases he used consisted of "my woman" instead of "darling."  

          What was it with males and their possessiveness? She was seriously getting sick with it all. Of course, she already knew that she couldn't expect anything more than the usual "you're my mate" stuff from Kouga—she had come to accept it as part of him. And ordinarily, it wouldn't have bothered her much—maybe it would've even flattered her a little, only that today, she already had more than enough of the love calls, having already received a round of it from Inuyasha. 

          And that was what frustrated her. One minute she thought she understood him, the next; he went all bonkers on her.

          "Kouga," she began, making all effort to sound patient. "I really appreciate how much I mean to you, but today's probably not a good day to—"

          "Aw, come on, Kagome. I haven't seen much of you lately, and I just wanted to see if you were doing okay with Dog-turd. Say, where is that bastard?" Kouga gave a quick glance around Kagome, then smiled when he saw nothing of the hanyou. "Oh great! Did you leave him? I always said that you were too good for him."

          "Don't get your hopes up, wolf!" 

          Kagome groaned as she saw Inuyasha skid across the vegetation and screech to a stop right in front of them— black suit, sunglasses and all. If there had been any sort of weapon in front of her, she would've gladly put herself out of her misery.

          This was going to be so embarrassing…

          The yourouzoku-prince glanced at his adversary, his eyes slowly digesting the hanyou's outfit from top to bottom. His eyebrows cocked up in strange smugness and superiority, and he crossed his arms with complacency to the action. 

"Now I see why you left him, Kagome. " A toothy grin revealed pointy fangs. "He's no longer manly enough for a woman like you." He finished the insult with a wink to Kagome. 

          But she didn't react to the yourouzoku's flirtations, only watching Inuyasha closely, wondering how the hanyou would react to the wolf's crude remarks. Kagome chewed at her bottom lip nervously and her feet tapped against the ground with perpetual motions.

          Maybe Inuyasha would return to his senses, Kagome prayed. Maybe Inuyasha would start screaming that he was going to rip off Koug—

Instead, Inuyasha looked offended. "I am **too** manly enough! Isn't that right, Kagome?"

She could've died on the spot. Or strangle Inuyasha, for that matter. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just unsheathe his sword and threaten to pound Kouga to hell? She'd thought that maybe the wolf would put his mind in the right place again. But no, Inuyasha just had to start talking about his masculinity again.

She wished the word manliness never existed.

          "Kagome? I am manly, right?" No answer.

          Trying to force down a faint uneasiness blooming inside of him, as well as trying to avoid the smirk of a certain conceited wolf, Inuyasha hurriedly turned to look at Miroku and Sango, who'd just arrived on the scene.

          "Tell them I'm manly!" It was more of a reassuring statement than a question.

          "Not right _now_…," Miroku muttered through gritted teeth. Sango busied herself in staring at the soles of her shoes.

          "Hmph," coughed the wolf, not bothering to hide his satisfied look. "If you really want to prove that you're not the wussy turd you are, then let's prove our skills with a battle."

          It was a direct challenge—a challenge in which one's masculinity would be lost, and the other's masculinity proved superior. Yes, it would be a deciding battle, the pride of both riding on its outcome. The group looked at Inuyasha with apprehension rising with each moment of silence, anxiously awaiting his reply.

"Well?"

"Why can't we just settle this argument peacefully, as gentlemen would?"

There came a loud crash behind the hanyou as looks of open disbelief were exchanged, mainly between two girls and a monk. Kagome had had enough. Choosing the heaviest stone she could find, she picked it up and hurled it at the hanyou's head. "Idiot! Just DRAW YOUR SWORD!"

"B-but—"

"DO IT!"

He didn't need a third reassurance. With a quick whoosh, the Tetsusaiga stood imposingly, glinting dangerously at any who dared to oppose it. Before anyone could blink again, the fang was suddenly a silver current, sharply slicing through the air to reach its target. Swiftly, the wolf-prince dodged to the right, though not quick enough to avoid a nick at the shoulder blades.  

"Hm," Kouga smirked as Inuyasha paused to catch his breath, "not bad. But you'll have to do better than that to defeat me."

Inuyasha replied with a smile, allowing a sharp fang to slide into view. "Ah…then take THIS!" 

A sudden quick movement sent the Tetsusaiga back at the wolf, sweeping the ground with a strong stream of air. Kouga however, was longer settling for only the defensive; jumping to avoid the attack, he then wove around to the side until he was behind the hanyou. Just as Inuyasha swerved around to meet him, Kouga slashed him alongside the jaw, leaving bloody stripes in its place. 

The hanyou swore and messily wiped the blood off his cheeks before rebounding—leaping into the air to deliver a strong blow to Kouga's leg. In return, he was rewarded with a sharp swipe to the arm that would have severed it, had he been human.

Kagome took the brawl in, watching the two fight—claw against fang. Watching Inuyasha leaping, dodging, and swerving Kouga's kicks with hard-felt slices with his sword. He looked so intent, so concentrated onto his task—so like the old Inuyasha.  With his hair drifting in the wind, glinting against the bright rays of the sun, he seemed almost magical. Like a Greek god, almost. Now, if only he wasn't wearing that ridiculous looking MIB outfit… Kagome sighed.

Kouga, who had begun to notice Kagome's increased attention in their direction, decided that her intent gazes were naturally focused on himself. She was just too shy to make her intentions clear to him, Kouga decided. Just like the cute girl she was. Quickly ducking another one of Inuyasha's attacks, he turned around and waved at his "ardent admirer".

"Oy, Kagome! No need to hide your love from me!"

Kagome felt her eyebrows spring up incredulously. What love? "Eh?" 

She felt the gazes of Miroku and Sango on her as well as that of the hanyou. Inuyasha…

"Such a shy person ya are, Kagome! Well, fine--," Kouga winked at her roguishly, "if you're going to deny it, how about we just settle with some kisses. Why don't you blow me some?"

Kagome was flustered. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was very near combustion. "Kouga…," the hanyou growled in a dangerously low voice, "why don't you just **DIE IN HELL**!" His muscles rippling, Inuyasha swung the Testusagia with a mighty thrust, throwing all his weight down on the sword. Kouga barely missed it by a millimeter.

"Oh, ho!" the wolf smirked. "So Inu-kuro finally starts playing tough, eh? Now this is way more fun." He took a confident stride toward the glaring face opposite of him. "Why don't we make it so that the victor receives a kiss from the lady?" Kouga whirled around to direct another smile at Kagome. "That way, Kagome won't have to hide her feelings any longer."

"Why don't you cut out all the crap!" Inuyasha, no longer following the chivalrous code of gentleman, instead, started towards Kouga again, directing his sword at the wolf with a quick swing. His opponent jumped and managed to avoid a second thrust at the neck.

"Inuyasha," Miroku called, in a sing-song tone. "Profanity doesn't make a gentleman!" 

"Shut the hell up!" Inuyasha swore, his eyes still dangerously watching the wolf. "He's going _die_ for THIS!" Once again, his body darted toward Kouga, his arm raised upward, the steel-fang in hand. He swerved to the left then right as Kouga attempted to land side blows on him. With a quick skid, the hanyou leaped up in the air, the Tetsusaiga raised high for the final swing, strengthened with pure anger and fury.

"Heh. Going to aim for my head, dog?" Kouga jumped up, anticipating an attack on the skull. The miscalculation cost him. 

Kagome, along with the rest of the group, watched in wide-eyed shock as the wolf prince leaped, his legs utterly defenseless as Inuyasha suddenly dropped down and swung. She watched in silent horror as the fang cut the flesh, a silver blur jutting in, releasing pools of blood that fell like rain. Kouga's back arched in, his face writhing with a terrible expression of pain across on his face. Time seemed to stop before he finally collapsed onto the ground, rivers of blood seeping from his legs.

Kagome didn't realize that she was shaking until she tried standing up, her legs wobbling under her. She was forced to fall back down, with her hand stretched out toward the direction of the hanyou. "Inuyasha…" He didn't answer her. His back was still facing them, the wolf-prince gasping at his feet. 

She tried again, this time, managing to succeed at standing up.  She silently made her way around the others to Inuyasha, stopping when she was some feet from him. He hadn't moved; his face still cast in shadows and his face tilting down. 

    Kagome hesitated before stepping forward, not noticing that her hand shook as she placed it on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha…" she said softly. 

Suddenly, he was facing her, his face darkly twisted in a medley of self-loathe and deep frustration. His hands were on her shoulders, his claws digging into her flesh in desperation. But she could only notice his face—how alone and painful it looked.

"Inuya--"

"You hate me now, right?" His words were harsh, sharply woven with hostility. "Not a gentleman…nothing but a beast. Too damn worthless to be anything else." The last words were spat out, meant to hurt. Inuyasha's mouth curved into a bitter smile, "Isn't that right, Kagome?"

She could only look at him, her eyes threatening to brim over. He stared at her for a second; then roughly pushed her away from him, hastily making his way towards the woods' interior. He didn't look back at her, only moving forward, moving forward until he was only a faint spot in the darkness of the forest. 

"I…" She struggled to say, but her throat seemed constricted in foreshadow of tears. She stopped. But the tears came anyway, one following another as they made wet streams across her face. "I…" She tried wiping them away with her sleeve. 

_I didn't mean it like that…    _

_I didn't._

Sango and Miroku watched her, their faces shadowy and etched with worry. The tayji, her heart wrenched by her friend's crumpled figure, pulled the monk's sleeve tightly. 

"Get Inuyasha," she hissed to him. "Now." The monk looked at her, hesitating for a second before nodding his head and starting after the hanyou's trail into the woods. "Get him before it's too late…" 

--

A/N:

DARN IT! I was writing a comedy here, and it just turned angsty!!!! Um…was the transition too quick? Actually, I hadn't been planning to insert angst in this chapter; this was supposed to be just a straight waff-comedy fic. And it was supposed to end with the next chapter, too!!

Now, with this depressing scene, I have doubts about having one more short chapter... *sigh* Oh well, review, ne?


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